Can you imagine going to bingo winning a £500 prize and then when you go to claim it after the game or after the session someone else has taken your money?
A thief told the Mecca Bingo staff that she had been sent up by the bingo winner to collect the £500 in winnings. Not realising the scam Mecca staff surprisingly paid her out.

Witnesses described the woman as in her mid 20s. She quickly left the bingo club with the money at around 9pm on Sunday. Police are said to be now studying CCTV footage in an attempt to identify the offender.

It is reported that the Mecca bingo club on Garrick Parade, Southport, honoured the winning ticket and paid out the deserving player. With Sunday being the busiest night at the club with hundreds of players at the site, such a con was more likely to succeed.

Val Bacon, a regular at the club, said: “I really don’t know how convincing the girl is to go up like that – she must have nerves of steel.”

Bingosupermarket was rather surprised that the staff fell for such a trick and would suggest to any would be con artists of this kind not to attempt the same. The majority of clubs that we speak to request the members membership card or a form of ID prior to paying out large amounts and in addition they normally ask for the WINNING ticket. I am pretty sure that in future the Mecca club in Southport will adopt a similar policy.